Magnetic door holder door stop

ABSTRACT

A door holder door stop that uses magnetic force to hold a door in an open position adjacent an interior wall. The door holder door stop includes an elongated arm having a first end and a second end, a screw disposed at the second end, the screw to fixedly secure the arm to the wall. A magnetic surface is disposed on a magnetic head, the magnetic head attached at the first end of the arm. The door holder door stop further includes a metal plate having a first side and a second side. The second side having an adhesive surface to fixedly secure the plate to the door. When the door is opened and moved to towards the wall, the first side of the metal plate is attracted to the metal surface of the arm, and therefore the door is retained in the open position.

CROSS REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS: None.

[0001] Statement as to rights to inventions made under Federallysponsored research and development: U.S. Provisional Application forPatent 60/408,980, filed Sep. 9, 2002, with title, “Magnetic Door HolderDoor Stop” which is hereby incorporated by reference. Applicant claimspriority pursuant to 35 U.S.C. Par. 119(e)(i).

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0002] 1. Field of the Invention

[0003] The present invention relates generally to door holder door stopwhich provides a retaining means to stop the door in an open positionwhen the door is opened. More specifically, the invention concerns adoor holder and stop that uses magnetic force to hold the door in anopen position.

[0004] 2. Brief Description of Prior Art

[0005] The present invention relates to an apparatus primarilyassociated with the interior door of a dwelling. When an interior dooris placed in the open position, the door may not remain open as desired,and swing partially or completely closed. This problem may be attributedfor example, to door alignment, dwelling settlement, or a wind forcepassing through the dwelling.

[0006] Previously, a door was held in an open position by a wedge forcedbetween the bottom of the door and the floor. Another prior art solutionto the problem was a hook-and-eye hardware apparatus. Prior art doorholders and door stops further disclose both floor and wall mounted doorstopping and retaining devices that require various attachments that arerecessed into, or project substantially from a door, that arecomplicated to both install and align in order to function properly. Inaddition, these devices are expensive to manufacture.

[0007] Such prior art devices have a plurality of moving parts which caneventually wear and hinder proper operation, require periodicmaintenance, and additional expense of replacement. These prior artdevices being too expensive for the intended purpose of simply holdingthe door in an open position.

[0008] There are likewise prior art devices that incorporate magneticforce, as does the present invention. These devices disclose both floorand wall mounted door stops and holders. Again, these devices includenumerous and intricate fitting pads, which require specialized machineryto produce and assemble. These devices being overly complex andtherefore, expensive to manufacture.

[0009] U.S. Pat. No. 2,496,691 to Berry, U.S. Pat. No. 2,815,236 toLowinski, U.S. Pat. No. 3,100,664 to Duval, U.S. Pat. No. 3,163,453 toStephens, U.S. Pat. No. 3,244,443 to Rogers, U.S. Pat. No. 3,578,370 toGreytok, and U.S. Pat. No. 3,701,557 to Centofante includes moving padsthat have wearing and loosening characteristics which require periodicmaintenance and replacement. Further, these devices are relativelydifficult and expensive to manufacture because of their complex shapesand plurality of parts.

[0010] As will be seen from the subsequent description, the preferredembodiments of the present invention overcome shortcomings of the priorart.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0011] The present invention relates generally to a door holder doorstop which provides a retaining means to stop the door in an openposition when the door is opened, and more particularly, a door holderand stop that uses magnetic force to hold the door in an open positionadjacent an interior wall. The door holder door stop of the presentinvention includes an elongated arm having a first end and a second end.A screw is disposed at the second end, the screw to fixedly secure thearm to the wall. A magnetic surface is disposed on a magnetic head, themagnetic head attached at the first end of the arm. The door holder doorstop further includes a metal plate having a first side and a secondside. The second side having an adhesive surface to fixedly secure theplate to the door. When the door is opened and moved to towards thewall, the first side of the metal plate is attracted to the metalsurface of the arm, and therefore the door is retained in the openposition.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0012]FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the door holder door stop of thepresent invention.

[0013]FIG. 2 is a side view of the door holder door stop of FIG. 1installed in a door and a wall.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

[0014] FIGS. 1-2 illustrate a preferred embodiment of a door holder doorstop 10 made in accordance with the present invention. The door holderdoor stop 10 used to secure an interior door 100 in an open positionadjacent an interior wall 200. Referring to FIG. 1, the door holder doorstop 10 includes an elongated arm 20, the arm 20 generally sized andshaped to door stop arms known in the art. The elongated arm 20 has afirst end 25 and a second end 27. A screw 30 is disposed at the secondend 27 of the elongated arm 20, the screw 30 is an elongated adjustmentmember to fixedly secure the arm 20 to the wall 200 ( see FIG. 2). Amagnetic surface 40 is disposed on a magnetic head 42, the magnetic head42 attached at the first end 25 of the arm 20. In the preferredembodiment, the magnetic surface 40 and magnetic head 42 each having acylindrical shape and each having a circumference in alignment with thecircumference of the first end 25 of the arm.

[0015] The door holder door stop further includes a metal plate 50having a first side 52 and a second side 55. The second side 55 havingan adhesive surface 57 to fixedly secure the plate 50 to the door 100 (see FIG. 2). In the preferred embodiment, the adhesive surface 57 is atwo-sided tape known in the art. Further, it is preferred that the metalplate 50 have a rectangular configuration.

[0016] Referring to FIG. 2, the metal plate 50 is attached to the door100 as described above, and the elongated arm 20 is attached to the wall200 as described above with the magnetic head 42 longitudinallyextending from the surface of the wall 200. When the door 100 is openedand moved towards the wall 200, the first side 52 of the metal plate 50is attracted to the magnetic surface 40 of the arm 20. The magnetic head42 having the magnetic surface 40 magnetizes the metal plate 50 so thatthe plate has a magnetic force. In the preferred embodiment, themagnetic surface 40 and the metal plate 50 have a flat surface, so thatthe magnetic force acts on the surface evenly, providing a better hold.

[0017] When the magnetic surface 40 is brought into contact with thefirst side 52 of the metal plate 50, the magnetic force pulls the metalplate 50 to the magnetic surface 40 of the arm 20 and effectivelyretains the plate 50 to the magnetic surface 40. This magneticattraction holds the plate 50 to the magnetic surface 40, and thereforeretaining the door 100 in the open position.

[0018] The magnetic hold is broken by a pull of the door 100 therebyeffectively separating the metal plate 50 from the arm 20, allowing thedoor 100 to be closed.

[0019] The embodiment depicted in the drawing is intended to be merelyexemplary, and is not intended to depict all possible shapes for a doorholder door stop of the present invention. Rather, the magnetic head 42having the magnetic surface 40 thereon, and the metal plate 50 can be ofany shape having mating components as described herein.

[0020] Although the description above contains many specificities, theseshould not be construed as limiting the scope of the invention but asmerely providing illustrations of some of the presently preferredembodiments of this invention.

[0021] Thus the scope of the invention should be determined by theappended claims in the formal application and their legal equivalents,rather than by the examples given.

I claim:
 1. A door holder door stop to secure a door in an open positionadjacent a wall, said door holder door stop comprising: an elongated armhaving a first end and a second end, first attaching means for securingthe second end of the elongated arm to the wall, a magnetic headattached at the second end of the elongated arm, said magnetic headhaving a magnetic surface, wherein the magnetic head longitudinallyextends from the surface of the wall, a metal plate having a first sideand a second side, second attaching means for attaching said second sideof the plate to the door, wherein the magnetic head is secured to thefirst side of the plate by a magnetic force of attraction to hold thedoor in an open position when the door is opened, wherein the magnetichead and the magnetic surface each having a circumference in alignmentwith the circumference of the first end of the arm.
 2. The door holderdoor stop as recited in claim 1, wherein the magnetic surface has a flatsurface.
 3. The door holder door stop as recited in claim 1, wherein thefirst side and the second side of the plate each having a flat surface.4. The door holder door stop as recited in claim 1, wherein the secondside of the plate having an adhesive surface to fixedly secure the metalplate to the door.
 5. The door holder door stop as recited in claim 1,wherein the first attaching means comprising a screw disposed at thesecond end of the elongated arm.
 6. The door holder door stop as recitedin claim 1, wherein the magnetic force is broken by pulling the doorsuch that the plate and the arm are separated.
 7. The door holder doorstop as recited in claim 1, wherein the plate having a rectangularconfiguration.
 8. The door holder door stop as recited in claim 5,wherein the screw has a threaded outside wall.
 9. A door holder doorstop to secure a door in an open position adjacent a wall, said doorholder door stop comprising: an elongated arm having a first end and asecond end, first attaching means for securing the second end of theelongated arm to the wall, a magnetic head attached at the second end ofthe elongated arm, said magnetic head having a magnetic surface, a platehaving a first side and a second side, second attaching means forattaching said second side of the plate to the door.
 10. The door holderdoor stop as recited in claim 9, wherein the magnetic surface has a flatsurface.
 11. The door holder door stop as recited in claim 9, whereinthe first side and the second side of the plate each having a flatsurface.
 12. The door holder door stop as recited in claim 9, whereinthe second side of the plate having an adhesive surface to fixedlysecure the metal plate to the door.
 13. The door holder door stop asrecited in claim 9, wherein the first attaching means comprising a screwdisposed at the second end of the elongated arm.
 14. The door holderdoor stop as recited in claim 9, wherein the first side of the plate isconstructed of metal.
 15. The door holder door stop as recited in claim14, wherein the magnetic head is secured to the first side of the plateby a magnetic force of attraction to hold the door in an open positionwhen the door is opened.
 16. The door holder door stop as recited inclaim 15, wherein the magnetic force is broken by pulling the door suchthat the plate and the arm are separated.
 17. The door holder door stopas recited in claim 9, wherein the magnetic surface having acircumference in alignment with the circumference of the first end ofthe arm.
 18. The door holder door stop as recited in claim 17, whereinthe magnetic surface having a circumference in alignment with thecircumference of the magnetic head.
 19. The door holder door stop asrecited in claim 9, wherein the plate having a rectangularconfiguration.
 20. The door holder door stop as recited in claim 9,wherein the magnetic head longitudinally extends from the surface of thewall.
 21. The door holder door stop as recited in claim 13, wherein thescrew has a threaded outside wall.